MANILA, Philippines – Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro and other officials face criminal and administrative complaints at the Office of the Ombudsman over alleged irregularities in procurement transactions made in 2020 and 2021.
Also named in the complaint are his wife Marikina Representative Marjorie Ann Teodoro, Barangay Sta. Elena officer Marie Joy San Juan, City Accountant Erlinda Gonzales, and acting city treasurers Miguel Rebanal and Florencia Gamad.
Complainant Rico Mariano, who owns office and school supplies firm Masie Enterprise, claimed his company was used as the “front supplier” of the government officials even if contracts were awarded to others.
Through the scheme, Mariano said he has collected and deposited funds worth a total of P26.75 million from the Marikina local government unit.
“I was used as a conduit, funneling funds from LGU Marikina directly into their pockets while throwing some peanuts my way,” the businessman said in his 53-page complaint.
He said officials violated Section 3(e) and (h) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA3019) and Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code, which covers the malversation of public funds by favoring pre-selected suppliers, intervening in government contracts, and mishandling public funds. This is on top of administrative charges of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.
Among all respondents named, Mariano said he only had direct contact with only San Juan.
The barangay officer would notify him of awarding procurement contracts to Masie Enterprise through test message or Facebook Messenger. He noted that he was “completely excluded from the process” and would only know if a check was ready for pick up.
“Sometimes, I would go to the City Hall of Marikina upon instructions of respondent Joy [San Juan], and meet with the General Services Office or the relevant office of the LGU for me to sign the purchase order for a particular procurement,” said Mariano.
Throughout the process, however, he would note red flags — he was “never given a list of materials nor asked to bring any document, not even a simple ID.” He also believes that his signature was forged in various documents.
Some of the orders include 10,000 birthday envelopes, 5,000 booklets for purchase of medicines, 3,000 booklets for groceries, and 1,200 IDs for the Office of the Senior Citizens.
Masie Enterprise did not deliver any of the order, but Mariano said San Juan will still tell him to collect disbursement vouchers and checks issued by the local government unit as payment for the items. He said the checks feature the mayor’s signature as the head of the procuring entity, and of Gamad as acting treasurer, which he said he can prove through a “document tracking system.”
“After receiving the check from LGU Marikina, I would deposit it into the Masie Veterans Bank account. Respondent Joy would then direct me to withdraw the funds in cash and remit to her. In exchange for remitting the ‘collection’ to her, respondent Joy would provide me with a commission which would be a small fraction of the amount,” Mariano said.
However, in 2020, Mariano said he was told by San Juan to draw manager’s checks in favor of the Marikina representative instead of remitting cash. There were six manager’s checks worth P9.58 million in total issued to Marjorie Ann from May 2020 to January 2021, Mariano said citing bank statements. – Rappler.com